Monday, April 26, 2010

hello everyone! happy monday! i hope your weekend was lovely, long, and less headache-filled than mine. i've felt on the verge of a big sick for a few days now and i'm hoping that getting enough sleep and eating my fruits and veggies will stave it off for at least a little while longer, as sam and i are heading to the beach this weekend in hopes of some fresh fish and sunshine.

i have been cooking and baking up a storm, as per usual; this week was a big one because. . . drumroll please. . . sam started eating meat after 8 years of vegetarianism. before the hate mail starts, i did NOT coerce him to switch over to the dark side in any way. i was vegetarian for many years and i have an immense amount of respect for those who chose not to eat meat; as a chef, i just like to have all my options open. i've always been a very adventurous eater and i never want to have to say no to anything because of dietary restrictions (so here's hoping all the sugar i eat doesn't turn me into a diabetic one day.) after months of watching me scarf bacon like it's my job, sam decided he was ready for some of that action. this is actually what i wore to the grocery store for the momentous occasion of picking up a rack of lamb to cook for dinner one night.

and now for a of recipe! no meat just yet, just seafood. i have a huge backlog of stuff to post; my days seem to be very formulaic. wake up. work until 3. come home, go for a jog, and start dinner; start movie while eating; finish movie in bed and go to sleep. yep, i've basically fast-forwarded to my late 60s, but i rather like it.

first: hard boil the eggs. put them in a pot with at least an inch of water over the top and bring it up to a boil over medium high heat; then take off heat, cover with a lid, and let 'em sit for 12 minutes. julienne your celery, prep your other items, sautee your crab and let it cool. take the eggs out of the hot water and put them in an ice bath to let 'em cool down. once they're cool, peel off the shell and don't slice them horizontally like you usually do - slice a little bit off the smaller end of the egg, height-wise. then cut about a half inch down on the other side and take out the yolk carefully. mix it up with all the other stuff and stuff it back in there; top with salt, pepper and sesame seeds.

so delicious, and pretty impressive as a nice appetizer for guests that you can prep hours in advance.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

hi everyone! quick recipe post for katie, who requested the goods on the strawberry shortcake, and stephanie says, who asked about the tomato tart.

strawberry shortcake

i took the recipe from cooks illustrated (i think i've said this before but they are great. they have an amazing test kitchen so you really get the best version of whatever classic dish you're looking for,) only to realize as i was cutting out the biscuits that i had completely forgotten to include the sugar. my stomach dropped. then i sucked it up, brushed the tops with a little extra cream, and poured sugar on top of each. they turned out absolutely incredibly, not overly sweet but with a beautiful, crispy sugar crust on top. the sugar from the strawberries seeps into the cake so you don't miss any sweetness at all. try it either way.

mix crushed and quartered berries with sugar in medium bowl; set aside while preparing biscuits.

adjust oven rack to lower middle position; heat oven to 425 degrees. whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and 3 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl. using large holes of box grater, grate butter into dry ingredients. toss butter with flour to coat. use fingers to finish cutting butter into flour until it is the side of peas.

mix beaten egg with half-and-half; pour into flour mixture. toss with fork until large clumps form. turn mixture onto floured work surface and lightly knead until it comes together.

chill a glass or stainless steel bowl in the freezer for a few minutes, then add cream, sugar, and vanilla and whip to soft or medium peaks (depending on how you like your whipped cream, of course.)

split each cake crosswise; spoon a portion of berries and then a dollop of whipped cream over each cake bottom. cap with cake top; serve immediately.

heirloom tomato tarti saw this recipe, or something like it, in a new york times sunday magazine a few years ago. it's pretty simple so i just remembered the important parts and make it when i get my hands on good tomatoes. i found mine at the fairway market in red hook, which, if any new yorkers haven't been there, is absolute heaven for a grocery store lover such as myself. the tomatoes are the main ingredient and the eye candy of the dish, so i try to buy at least one box of heirloom tomatoes and mosaic those on top to make it a bit prettier. you can layer vine ripened tomatoes underneath, or whatever looks best; i use plum, cherry, campari, red, yellow, and/or orange vine-ripened tomatoes. the time is coming for great produce at farmer's markets! so a good time for this one.

makes one nine-inch tart.

crust: 13 T butter (a little more than a stick and a half) cut into 1/2 inch pieces2 c all purpose flour (bleached or unbleached)a couple pinches of salt (i like mine salty)some ice water

tart:1 box heirloom tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes if you can't find those4-8 other tomatoes, depending on size; use a variety. should be about a pound of tomatoes total.1 T olive oil (the better, the better)1 small sweet yellow onionabout 4 oz goat cheeseabout a half cup crumbled fetabasil leaves (to garnish)salt, pepper

make the crust, and once it comes together wrap it in plastic and let it rest in the fridge for a half hour or so. pull it out and roll it out; butter or pam your tart pan, fold the crust into quarters, then place in tart pan and unfold. crimp the edges if you like; turn oven to 350, then place it in your fridge and let it chill for about 30 minutes. once oven is ready and crust has rested in fridge, take it out, line it with parchment paper (enough so that a few inches hang over the sides and is easy to lift out) and fill that with lentils or pie weights. bake for 15-20 minutes (until the edge starts to brown), rotating halfway through, then remove the lentils and bake for a few minutes without them IF NEEDED. if the crust already looks like it is starting to be done (no dark, uncooked spots but not turning brown at all yet,) don't bake it any longer.

while you're doing that, slice the whole onion so that it makes lots of little circles. start the olive oil in a medium sized pan on medium heat and add the onion, cooking it until it's transparent. add more olive oil if needed. salt a tad if you want. set aside.

slice all the tomatoes into 1/4 inch or so thick slices. cut cherry tomatoes (if using) in half.

once the crust ready (pre-baked but not browned and done,) and still a little warm, turn the oven up to broil and crumble the goat cheese on the bottom of the tart and spread it around with an offset spatula or spoon. you can always use more or less cheese as you wish. add the onion on top of that, then tile the tomatoes over it, then top it all of with the feta cheese. salt and pepper as desired, then pop it in the oven and broil it for 5-10 minutes, until the feta cheese starts to brown. if the crust starts to get too dark, you can take out the tart and cover the edges of the dough with aluminum foil. it is kind of a pain though.

and voila! garnish with a little bit of basil. actually quite simple and SUCH a great dish for the spring and summer.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

hello hello! yes, it has been awhile. after receiving a bit of good-natured hell from a friend of mine about being such a flake about posting i realized that there is one thing i miss about my old office job: all the time i had in front of my computer every morning. it's also one of the things i'm most relieved to get away from - spending 9 hours a day in front of a computer was, for me at least, a pretty depressing affair and one that i certainly grew weary of, but it did make writing a blog post a highlight and something easily squeezed into my day before my first cup of coffee and microwaveable lunch. (yeah, i guess there really isn't much else i miss about that job. except the people, of course.) so what has been keeping me so damn busy? well, lots of this.

so, maybe i'll be a girl here for a minute and go a bit further into explaining my blog hibernation; the winter is just ending, and i work in a bakery, and i spend most of my free time cooking, and i just don't feel like taking photos of myself every day. it's a thing i've always had a strange relationship with anyway; i'm not a big fan of having my picture taking, and like anyone, i'm my own worst critic, but i do love clothes and dressing up and i feel it's an artistic expression in a way that i am proud to show to the world. that said, not only does spending 12 hours a day in a kitchen not really lend itself to wearing one's most delicate vintage finery, but the results of all that cooking (and eating) don't really make me feel like getting super dressed up. the summer seems to be just around the corner, though, and i'm determined to "health up," so to speak, and get my style groove back. i hope you'll be satisfied with delicious recipes and food porn filling in the spaces when outfit posts are less frequent. additions to the store are still to come and i'll be doing my best to make my posts more frequent - but, you know. i'm human. obviously. thanks for sticking with me.